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We’ve been a fan of Whole Foods Almond Milk for several months. Pretty much once we discovered it, we loved. However, starting in May 2013, we started seeing some issues with the milk. In our blog about Frothing Almond Milk we have tracked the changes in foaming quality based on expiration date. While no ingredients have changed, these different batches have significant difference in how they foam leading us to believe that there is some sort of ingredient change or quality control issue.

Now several wholes foods seem to have cleared the shelves completely of their Whole Foods 365 Organic Almond Milk. At our local store, there’s not even a place for it anymore. We’ve been told it’s a production problem with their supplier. Estimates of a few weeks to a few months were given, but nothing solid yet.

Update July 11th 2013

According one of the Whole Foods Facebook Pages, the Milk is now back in stock. It could take a few days to actually reach the shelves of your local store, but hopefully it will be there very soon.

The official statement seems to be that it’s a “new recipe/formula” so hopefully it will be an improvement and one that is consistent carton to carton. From Whole Foods: “Wanted to give you a heads up that our 365 Almond Milk is back in stock, and still free from Carrageenan.”

Update July 15th 2013

Still no stock at our local stores. The rep at the Whole Foods here said that it would not be until August. Though there are reports of it being in stock in other states.

Update August 2013

Finally! It’s back in stock at our local stores. We’ve heard some mixed feedback here about the recipe, but so far we’ve liked it. Our primary use is for foaming milk to use in coffee and we are glad to saw that the new recipe is back to actually foaming and foaming well.

Our favorite milk foamer/frother is made by a company called Froth Au Lait. Unlike most other automatic frothers that use a small whipping disc, the Froth Au Lait has two large spindles hat really work well. Both quality and volume of foam has been better than other frothers that we have tried.

Our frother recently broke and we tried contacting the company for support or or to buy a new one and just reached the infamous “sorry, this number has been disconnected or is no longer in service.”

Most of their products have been pulled of of Amazon as well. We’ve been in touch with a few other vendors who sell their product and they too are unable to reach the company. Their website is still up, but I fear that the company is not longer around.

Latest update: *1/17/2016
After trying several store brands, we decided to make our own almond milk. Using the magic of the Froth Au Lai, it still works best:

We’ve made the switch to almond milk and for the most part could not be happier. The biggest challenge so far is finding an almond milk that froths/foams for use in such drinks as a cappuccino. What we want is the thick rich foam that you can just pour (or scoop) into the cup and that holds strong consistency. To make your cappuccino “dryer” you can let the foam sit for an extra minute or two and then scoop it out with a spoon.

The Foam

The foam is not just a “topper” that covers the coffee. A “topper” is much closer to a latte consisting of mostly steamed milk mixed with espresso and a scoop or two of foam on top. With a cappuccino, it’s a lot of foam infused with a shot or two of espresso. Taking it a step “dryer,” a common variation of the espresso macchiato can be made in the same manner, but using just a scoop or two of foam.

So you are looking for thick rich foam filling most of the drink:

Before adding the espresso:

After:

Bubbles or Foam?

Answer: Foam! We are not looking for big soap bubbles here. You want rich small/micro-bubble foam that keeps a pretty strong shape. Notice how after pouring the shot of espresso in the drink below, the foam just has a small crater and keeps its shape. Again, 3/4 of this drink is made up of foam, leaving 1/4 for the shot of espresso and a bit of the steamed milk.

Iced Variation

Below is a picture of an iced cappuccino. The foam to espresso ratio here is a bit different. This is mostly caused by the ice melting as the hot shot of espresso is poured over it. Also, I use a lot of ice. So the coffee part that you see here is still filled mostly with ice.

To Shake or Not Shake?

I was surprised at this answer: do not shake. I always figured that foaming milk required agitating it, so there should be no problem with rigorously shaking the carton before pouring it in the frother. Time and time again, this only caused the foam bubbles to be larger than what we were aiming for. Still this could just be coincidence. Any real science here?

What Brands are the Best?

Below is a list of almond milk brands and the quality of foam that we’ve achieved:

Brand

Foam Quality

Taste

Overall

Carrageenan

Notes

Almond Breeze

Good-ish

Good (Bitter)

Good

Yes

It initially foams really well, but then seems to dry/drain out within a few minutes.

Lucerne Non-GMO Almond Milk

Poor

Fair

Poor

unknown

Consistently yields large foam bubbles or just nothing at all. This is the type that looks like dish soap bubbles and seems to almost disappear when you spoon it out.

Silk Almond Milk Original

Fair

Good

Fair

unknown

Tends to be only big bubbles or just a bunch of foam that collapses (like soap bubbles). Every now and then it seemed to work okay but was not consistent. The benefit is that you can find it just about everywhere.

It’s back! Milk is foaming again with the new recipe change. We’ve seen this milk come and go as recipe’s change. However, the latest we’ve tried produces a creamier cappuccino with decent foam. It’s not organic :( Good news: It does not have Carrageenan.

** Whole foods had some sort of production/quality-control issue that affected the stock of 365 Almond Milk in early/mid-2013. Some batches were good, some were bad, then it was pulled from the shelves for 1-2 months. As of August 2013, it’s back on the shelves and so far so good.

Mixing it Up

We’ve been experimenting with blending the milks to get that closer-to-perfection foam. If you are not getting think enough foam, try mixing in 50% Almond Breeze. Note, the Almond Breeze does have Carrageenan.

Update on Whole Foods

It appears that something has changed in this latest batch. We have tested 2 cartons of the “Expires in June 2013” Almond Milk and they are not foaming at all (collapsing soap bubbles). We still have some “Expires in May 2013” that foams well. So for those trying it out for the first time, you may be out of look for the refrigerated stuff. I suggest that you buy the smaller $1.99 non-refrigerated version. We have tried several of the ones that “Expires in Nov 2013” and they foam very well. However, the “Expires in Dec 2013,” “Expires in Jan 2013,” and “Expires in Feb 2014” have not foamed well at all.

All ingredients and nutritional information remain the same, but something clearly has changed. We contacted our local store and Whole Foods corporate. They said no ingredients have changed and they will look into it. Perhaps it’s just a quality control issue on some of the ingredients.

(May 2013 Update) – Good news

We’ve tried the next batch of refrigerated Whole Foods Organic 365 Almond Milk (with expiration dates in July 2013) and it’s back to foaming. The foam is rich/creamy again but is a bit wetter than it used to be. This makes a really good cappuccino, but if you are looking for a dry cappuccino, you might want to stick with Almond Breeze for now.

(June 2013 Update) – OOS?

As of early June, it seems that now there is a production problem with Whole Foods 365 Organic Almond Milk and some stores don’t have any of the refrigerated in stock at all. Our local store is completely “out of stock” though no one at the store knew why.

Whole Foods says that it’s just an out-of-stock issue with their supplier. Will keep you posted on any details that we hear.

(August 2013 Update) – Back and Foaming!

Finally! It’s back in stock at our local stores. We’ve heard some mixed feedback here about the recipe, but so far we’ve liked it. Our primary use is for foaming milk to use in coffee and we are glad to saw that the new recipe is back to actually foaming and foaming well.

(August 2013 Update) – Back and Foaming!

And it’s out again. Seems to no longer foam for us.

Update on Trader Joe’s

Just as Whole Foods seems to have been taking out of the game (still not sure why) – Trader Joe’s has come back. Their latest batch that we’ve tried Oct 2014 seems to be creating that rich foam again. Let’s hope this lasts.

As of 2014, we switched to the Nespresso/DeLonghi machine with built in frother. The frother is made for an individual cup so it’s not as substantial as the dedicated Froth Au Lait, but it still works great.

Quality Control

Still this poses the same question that we have about Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, etc.. Is there a quality control issue going on here or is it just a fluke? Does anyone have any insight?

More Helpful Resources:

Note: For those that are interested, unless otherwise specified, the milks listed do not have any Carrageenan in them (a somewhat common ingredient to soy, coconut, and almond based milks).